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| Tom
Cruise, born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV on July 3, 1962. His realised he
loved acting in the role of Nathan Detroit in his high school's production
of "Guys and Dolls". His childhood family life was unsettled due
in part to his father's job requiring the family to move frequently but
also due to his learning disability, dyslexia which affected his school
grades. The acting bug took such hold on Tom that he dropped out of high
school in his senior year to persue an acting career in New York. He took
a role in a local production of Godspell which led to his first break in
film by attracting the attention of Italian director Franco Zifferelli.
In 1976 at the age of 14 Tom was registered in a Franciscan seminary studying to be a priest. Tom spent his boyhood on the move and by the time he was 14 he had attended 15 different schools in the US and Canada. He finally settled in Glen Ridge, NJ, with his mother and her new husband. While in high school, Cruise developed an interest in acting and abandoned his plans of becoming a priest, dropped out of school, and at age 18 headed for New York and a possible acting career. The next 15 years of Tom's life are the stuff of legends. He made his film debut with a small part in Endless Love His early films roles were smaller parts in "Endless Love" alongside Brooke Sheilds and as a cadet in "Taps". He played main roles as a young actor in "Risky Business" and "Legend" which also starred Tim Curry. The role that launched his career however was Pete Mitchell "Maverick" in "Top Gun" and he hasn't looked back since. |
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